The 700 MHz band (actually 698-806 MHz) is television broadcast spectrum that
will be made available for public safety and commercial wireless services as a
result of the digital television (DTV) transition.

The FCC adopted a report and order on July 31, 2007, that revised the band plan and service
rules for the 700 MHz band. In particular, this order created something titled
"Public/Private Partnership". It provided that a single commercial licensee would build
a nationwide broadband interoperable network for use by public safety entities. However, it
would then have preemptible secondary access to the spectrum.

The FCC's order provided for the auction later this month of a D Block of 10
MHz of paired spectrum (758-763 and 788-793).

The FCC stated in its
release [5 pages in
PDF] of July 31 that "As part of the Partnership, the commercial licensee will build
out a nationwide, interoperable broadband network for the use of public safety. This network
will facilitate effective communications among first responders not just in emergencies, but
as part of cooperative communications plans that will enable first responders from different
disciplines, such as police and fire departments, and jurisdictions to work together in
emergency preparedness and response."

It added that "the Public Safety Broadband Licensee will have priority access to the
commercial spectrum in times of emergency, and the commercial licensee will have preemptible,
secondary access to the public safety broadband spectrum."

1/9. Kevin Martin, Chairman of the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), gave a
speech [PDF]
in New York City in which he discussed recent FCC rules changes regarding broadband services,
video franchising, apartment owners, LPFM, leased access channels, and diversity
ownership in broadcasting.

He said that the FCC "has acted to remove regulatory barriers to broadband deployment,
and the result has been a significant increase in the number of Americans subscribing to
broadband at the same time that the price for broadband services has declined". This,
said Martin, has "resulted in a significant closing of the digital divide".

He also said that "The cable industry needs more competition". He denounced
"skyrocketing cable rates", while prices for other communications services have
declined.

Martin cited two things that the FCC has done that he stated will increase cable
competition. First, he said that the FCC has adopted video franchising rules. See also, story
titled "FCC Adopts 2nd Report and Order on Video Franchising" in
TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No.
1,668, November 2, 2007.

He also discussed recent changes to the FCC's low power FM rules, and FCC rules related
to diversity ownership in broadcasting.

DHS Releases REAL ID
Regulations

1/11. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released
284 pages of regulations that establish federal requirements for states in the operation of
their identification systems for individuals, including issuing of identification
cards and maintaining of electronic databases of information.

The DHS published the regulations as 10 megabytes of PDF scans. See,
part 1
and
part 2.

These regulation are issued in connection with the Title II of the REAL ID Act of 2005.

The regulations extend deadlines for states to come into compliance with the
mandates of the Act and regulations. These regulations provide that the final extended
deadline for complete compliance is December 1, 2017.

The DHS stated in a
release that "REAL ID will address document fraud by setting specific
requirements that states must adopt for compliance, to include: (1) information
and security features that must be incorporated into each card; (2) proof of the
identity and U.S. citizenship or legal status of an applicant; (3) verification
of the source documents provided by an applicant; and (4) security standards for
the offices that issue licenses and identification cards."

Many states have not responded with enthusiasm to the identification
mandates provisions of the REAL ID Act. Several states have already enacted legislation
that prohibits compliance with the identification mandates of the REAL ID Act.
See for example, story titled "Maine Rejects REAL ID Act" in
TLJ Daily E-Mail
Alert No. 1,528, January 29, 2007.

Reaction to Regulations.Sen. Patrick Leahy
(D-VT), the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary
Committee (SJC), stated in a
release that
the "REAL ID program will not only lead to long lines at every DMV across the country,
it will impose a massive unfunded mandate on state governments while offering absolutely no
federal privacy protections to our citizens".

He added that the rules will "prolong a contentious and unproductive battle to force
the states to comply".

He also said that "with the federal government now directing how a state
drivers' license is issued, what characteristics the card must have, and
conditioning access to federal buildings and airplanes on possession of a REAL
ID card, it is difficult to think this is anything but the first, big step
toward a national identification card that so many Americans oppose".

The ACLU stated in a
release
that these regulations "have dumped the problems of the statute on future
presidents like a rotting corpse left on the steps of the next administration --
and not just the next one, but the administration of whoever is president in 2018".

"Real ID needs to be repealed. It is not only a threat to Americans' privacy
but it is utterly unworkable." The ACLU added that the Act "should be repealed
and replaced with a clean, simple, and vigorous new driver's license security
law that does not create a national ID".

The ACLU wrote in a
summary
of the new regulations that "The act still has significant privacy problems. DHS
has not protected an individual's personal information on the machine readable
zone and allow for the use of widespread photo recognition. The regulations have
left unresolved the requirement for a nationwide database of all drivers."

Sen. Leahy also stated that "I have joined Senators Akaka, Sununu, Tester,
Baucus, and Alexander in introducing legislation to repeal the drivers' license
provisions of the law, and to replace them with the negotiated rulemaking
process originally enacted in the 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorist
Prevention Act. That law, which REAL ID superseded, was intended to improve the
security of state driver's licenses through a cooperative partnership with the
states and the private sector."

Legislative History. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorist Prevention
Act of 2004 provided for a state federal negotiated rulemaking process regarding
state identification systems. This process was underway when the Congress displaced it with
the federal mandates scheme contained in Title II of the REAL ID Act of 2005.

The original version of
HR 418
(109th Congress), the "REAL ID Act of 2005", was introduced by
Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI)
on January 26, 2005. The House amended and approved one version of HR 418 as a
stand alone bill on February 10, 2005.

The House also approved it as an appendage to
HR 1268
(109th Congress), on May 11, 2005. HR 1268 was a supplemental appropriations
bill, the main purposes of which were defense and anti-terrorism funding, and
additional funding for the FBI, DEA, and other agencies.

President Bush signed HR 1268 (109th) on May 11, 2005. It is now Public Law
109-13. Hence, the REAL ID Act was enacted as Division B of HR 1268. This Title
B contains many provisions. Those related to the federalization of state
identification systems are found at Title II of Title B, titled "Improved
Security for Drivers' Licenses and Personal Identification Cards. It is Sections
201-207 of Title B.

Section 201 contains definitions. Section 202, titled "Minimum Document
Requirements and Issuance Standards for Federal Recognition", sets minimum
standards regarding the contents of state identification documents, including
machine readability, and issuance standards. It also requires that states
maintain electronic databases that include "all data fields printed on drivers'
licenses and identification cards issued by the State".

The Congress did make minor changes to Title II of the REAL ID Act in HR 660
[LOC |
WW], the "Court
Security Improvement Act of 2007". President Bush signed this
bill into law on January 8, 2008. See, White House
release.

HR 660 contains numerous provisions related to court security, including a provision that
states are not to collect certain information about federal judges and justices, including
their home addresses. The bill seeks to, among other things, protect the safety of judges
and justices. One way that it seeks to accomplish this is to prevent those who would do them
harm from learning their residences from state identification databases. This may be based on
the understanding that these state databases of information will not be secure.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in
response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in which it proposes to
extend the current five year registration period for the Do Not Call
Registry. This NPRM is FCC 07-203 in CG Docket No. 02-278. See,
notice in the Federal Register, December 14, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 240, at Pages
71099-71102. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts NPRM Regarding Extending Do Not Call
Registrations" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,680, November 30, 2007.

3:30 - 5:00 PM. The National Association of
Broadcasters (NAB) will host a closed webcast seminar titled "What
Every Station Should Know about Political Advertising". The speakers will
include Bobby Baker (head of the FCC's Office of Political Programming). See,
notice. This event is closed to all but NAB members.

2:30 - 4:30 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International
Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will hold a public meeting
to prepare advice for the U.S. on positions for the February 2008 meeting of
the working groups of the International Telecommunication Union Council. See,
notice in the Federal Register, December 31, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 249, at
Page 74402. Location: undislcosed.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's
(DOS) International
Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare for advice for the
U.S. on positions for the February 2008 meeting of the Telecommunication Development Advisory
Group (TDAG) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-D). See,
notice in the Federal Register, December 19, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 243, at
Page 71992. Location: DOS Main, Room 5804, 2201 C St., NW.

1/10. Microsoft announced that Jeff Raikes, President of the Microsoft
Business Division, will retire after a nine month transition. He will be
replaced by Stephen Elop, who was previously Chief Operating Officer
(COO) at Juniper Networks. See, Microsoft
release.

More News

1/10. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released
the agenda for its event on Thursday, January 17, 2008, titled "Open Commission
Meeting". The FCC is not scheduled to adopt any items at this meeting. Rather, the five
Commissioners will hear status reports from senior officials in various FCC Bureaus and Offices.
See, agenda
[PDF].

1/10. The National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA) published a
notice in the Federal Register that announces, and solicits applications for, planning
and construction grants for public telecommunications facilities. The NTIA will distribute
$16.8 Million in grants under its Public
Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP) in FY 2008. This is down from $22 Million in
FY 2007. The deadline to submit applications for grants is 5:00 PM on February 22, 2008. See,
Federal Register, January 10, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 7, at Pages 1864-1865.

About Tech Law Journal

Tech Law Journal publishes a free access web site and
subscription e-mail alert. The basic rate for a subscription
to the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert is $250 per year. However, there
are discounts for subscribers with multiple recipients. Free one
month trial subscriptions are available. Also, free
subscriptions are available for journalists,
federal elected officials, and employees of the Congress, courts, and
executive branch. The TLJ web site is
free access. However, copies of the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert are not
published in the web site until one month after writing. See, subscription
information page.